The Republican strength has been mostly symbolic. The McCain campaign is well aware of how Reagan and W won -- running on character: values, communication, (apparent) authenticity, trust, and identity -- not issues and policies. That is how campaigns work, and symbolism is central. ...
Palin is the mom in the strict father family, upholding conservative values. Palin is tough: she shoots, skins, and eats caribou. She is disciplined: raising five kids with a major career. She lives her values: she has a Downs-syndrome baby that she refused to abort. She has the image of the ideal conservative mom: pretty, perky, feminine, Bible-toting, and fitting into the ideal conservative family. And she fits the stereotype of America as small-town America. It is Reagan's morning-in-America image.
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Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Lakoff - Why Palin is a game changer
Excerpt from George Lakoff's The Palin Choice and the Reality of the Political Mind:
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6 comments:
Regarding Hillary Clinton supporters backing McCain because he chose Palin as his running mate. The only way I could see that happening was if you didn't care about issues, you just wanted a woman on the ticket.
Read this:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/many-sides-sarah-palin
Aunty Nicole
It is overly simplistic to assume Senator Clinton's supporters were only supporting her due to her gender or her policies or both. There are many, many factors that go into how a person choses a candidate to support if they are given other choices. Why would those voters who supported Senator Clinton in the primary be different than any other voters, i.e., their decision to support either the GOP ticket, the Dem ticket, or the Green Party ticket would be due to myriad of reasons (party loyalty, protest vote, gender identity, ethnic identity, perceived values, single issues such as reproductive rights or the environment, & support or nonsupport for the war in Iraq). Clinton supporters weren't monolithic in their reasons for supporting Clinton over the other Dem candidates & they surely won't be monolithic in their reasoning for which ticket (if any) they chose in November.
Why is this so hard for Obots to grasp?
I'm not an "Obot." I'm a woman that's concerned about our country and our future. I liked Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate first and as a woman second. For the Republicans to think that anyone like me would vote for them simply because they put a woman on the ticket is insulting, cynical, outrageous and absurd. It isn't that I like Barack obama; it's that I don't see a better choice at this stage.
Aunty Nicole
I don't think the GOP thought they were necessarily going to pick up disaffected Clinton voters, but rather energize their base and perhaps suppress some Democrat and independent votes in key swing states.
Of course, who knows what will happen? Unfortunately, people/media are playing into a dangerous hero vs. villain narrative under construction by the GOP:
McCain & Palin are heroic, maverick reformers under attack by the elite, angry & unpatriotic Left.
BTW - I regret my decision to add that line about Obots in my first response. I made an unkind assumption that was incorrect. I appreciate your taking the time to make comments on my little blog.
~ peace ~
No offense taken. I find your perspective refreshing. I'll be back.
Aunty Nicole
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